Volkswagen of America on Tuesday reposted on its media site a press release accidentally posted a month early on Monday announcing a new name for its US operations, Voltswagen of America, emphasising the automaker’s electric vehicle efforts.

Given the date, media widely assumed it was a failed April Fools joke and a spokesman for the company declined to comment to CNBC on the original release, which was dated 29 April and subsequently taken down.

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“A person familiar with the company’s plans” nonetheless confirmed the authenticity of the release to CNBC and Road and Track also confirmed authenticity through its own source.

The republished release said the name change would take effect from May and called the change a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility”.

Starting today, new branding will roll out across all of the company’s advertising, website and social media channels. In future, Voltswagen will be placed as an exterior badge on all EV models with petrol vehicles having only the VW emblem.

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“Exterior and interior signage will soon roll out to all Voltswagen properties and dealerships across the US,” the release added.

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The renamed Voltswagen of America would remain an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.

VW is launching the ID.4 SUV this month in the US. The ID.3 hatchback is not on its EV launch list so far.

Automakers have become notorious over the years for some very clever 1 April hoaxes so, if there’s a loud cry of ‘April Fool’ from Virginia Thursday morning (at publication vw.com had not changed), we won’t be entirely surprised.